Kuroto calmly looked at Orochimaru, patiently waiting for his answer.
"My condition is very simple, I want Uchiha Itachi. Earlier I wanted Uchiha Tsukihi, but now that she is dead, I want Uchiha Itachi. Bring Uchiha Itachi to me, and I will give you any and all technique that you want from me, of course, Chimera technique and Dark Medical Ninjutsu being part of that condition." – It seemed Orochimaru was speaking in a casual tone, but the slight change in his expression was not hidden when he mentioned Uchiha Itachi.
'Sigh, I should have known that he has not suffered enough to forget Sharingan…' – thought Kuroto.
If before, Orochimaru was after Uchiha Tsukihi because of his instincts telling him that it would have been worth it, but now that Uchiha Tsukihi is dead, and given the fact that Orochimaru is aware of Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan so it is obvious that now he is after Uchiha Itachi.
Besides, Itachi's indifference, coldness, and ruthlessness must have seriously wounded Orochimaru's pride, so it is not strange that Orochimaru is now pursuing Itachi's body.
Sighing at the impossible dream of his Sensei, Kuroto said with a bitter smile, "You are overestimating me Sensei… If… even you couldn't defeat Uchiha Itachi, then who am I in front of him?"
Orochimaru sneered, "Kuroto-Kun, I may not know your abilities, but I perfectly understand that so long as you are truly willing, you can find a way."
Kuroto smirked, "Maybe you are right, but I do not have such an early death wish, and I have a piece of advice for you too Orochimaru-sama, but you may not like to hear it."
Orochimaru said, "Try me, let's hear it."
"I would suggest that you give up on Uchiha Itachi." – pausing till here, Kuroto continued, "You are staring at him just like an injured mouse stare at a cat, the result is pretty obvious."
Kuroto is not satirizing Orochimaru, but it is a piece of serious advice for Orochimaru from Kuroto.
If Orochimaru really wants to take over Uchiha Itachi's body, firstly he will have to subdue Itachi in a battle.
Even if Orochimaru somehow manages to do so, the last step of devouring Itachi's soul is still unavoidable. So, a battle of the soul will obviously break out between the two parties, which is something Orochimaru would lose without a doubt.
Why? Because Orochimaru lost the same battle against Uchiha Sasuke in the original series, compared to Sasuke who only had a three tomoe Sharingan at that time, Itachi with Mangekyou Sharingan will be multiple times difficult opponent, not to mention Itachi will not leave a danger conscious remain within his body.
So Orochimaru's defeat is decided even before he would try something.
But who would explain Orochimaru such a thing, Kuroto obviously won't, and Orochimaru naturally did not take Kuroto's advice kindly? As soon as he heard Kuroto's words, his expression shrank, "Kuroto-kun, it seems that even you have begun to look down on me."
Kuroto shook his head in denial, "No, sensei, I have never underestimated you, not once in my life. But I think that you should not waste your time on something impossible, and if you are so adamant about obtaining Sharingan why not change your goal to someone else? Anyway, there are so many Uchiha clansmen in the Uchiha Clan. Why do you always target the most difficult ones?"
"Humph, It seems that you have forgotten many of your old experiences so it seems that there is a need to remind you of them!" – After a snort, Orochimaru continued, "Forget it, if you want to those techniques, my conditions are the same. Bring Uchiha Itachi to me, and you can have them."
Kuroto was silent now, he was calculating many things.
Kuroto knew that Orochimaru would not understand his kindness unless he suffers heavily.
Seeing Kuroto's silence, Orochimaru smirked, and said, "Of course, you can also try to steal these scrolls from me, if you want to."
After a long silence, Kuroto sighed, "You are my Sensei, and you have protected me from many things. Even if I want to obtain Chimera technique so badly, I still have my bottom line, so I am not going to do it." – Leaving this sentence, Kuroto did not wait for Orochimaru's reply, he directly turned over and disappeared.
A few seconds after Kuroto left, Yakushi Kabuto walked out of the shadows, and said, "Orochimaru-sama, it seems that we were able to fool him."
"Cough-cough…" – Orochimaru coughed out violently, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth, Orochimaru said with a sulky look, "Unfortunately that isn't the case. Hyuga Kuroto easily saw through my bluff, do not look down on him, the current him is a younger version of myself. From the way he acted in my presence, I can be certain that he saw through us."
Kabuto froze in surprise, "Then why did he not act?"
Orochimaru groaned a little and said, "Perhaps he has some other means to obtain the technique, or maybe…"
"Maybe?" – Kabuto asked in confusion.
"Nothing, by the way, how was the investigation on Yomi's whereabouts?" – asked Orochimaru changing the subject.
Kabuto answered, "He has gone missing, Miko's Shrine is also destroyed, so the most likely conclusion is that he is dead."
"Who could it be?" – Orochimaru muttered thoughtfully, then asked, "What about Miko's daughter? If I recall correctly, she is in Konoha, right?"
Kabuto nodded, "Yes, she is in Konoha, in fact, you would be surprised to hear that she is under Hyuga Kuroto's protection."
"Oh? That's surprising." – muttered Orochimaru.
"In fact, I also heard that during the chaos a few days ago, Hyuga Kuroto was not in Konoha as he was personally assigned a mission by Sandaime Hokage, and another Kunoichi was temporarily placed in team-11. If I have to guess then it is most likely the Land of Demons where Hyuga Kuroto went in that period, so Yomi was most likely killed by Hyuga Kuroto." – added Kabuto.
Orochimaru nodded, "That explains why Kuroto-kun was not surprised at the mention of Dark Medical Ninjutsu, he probably has some understanding of that Kinjutsu. Anyway, clear off all of his connection with his visit to the Land of Demons, and to Yomi's death, and put the blame on Amatsukami. I do not want Akatsuki to go after Kuroto-kun in regards to Yomi's death, he is still not ready to face the likes of Akatsuki."
"Yes, it will be done." – Kabuto nodded, and proceeded to walk out of the laboratory, but suddenly came to a stop and asked, "By the way Orochimaru-sama, Shimura Danzo sent a messenger and wanted to know when will you commence with the plan?"
Orochimaru sighed, "Although I really want to fight Sandaime Hokage, it is still not the right time. Firstly, I need a new body so that I can play at my full strength, otherwise, it is unlikely that I would be able to get rid of the him."
Although the Kinjutsu 'Living Corpse Reincarnation' does make it impossible for him to die, not all bodies he takes over allows him to retain a hundred percent of his strength.
And the body he is in currently does not allow him to use a hundred percent of his strength, so fighting Sarutobi Hiruzen would be simply seeking death, which is not something Orochimaru would do, this is not his style.
…
On Kuroto's side.
After leaving Orochimaru's laboratory, Kuroto started to devise his plan to obtain Chimera Technique.
Since Orochimaru is unwilling to give him the technique so next target is obviously Shinno. Kuroto has already thought up a plan, now it's time to implement it.
With everything decided Kuroto increased his speed and went in the direction of Konoha.
…
Amegakure, Hiruko's laboratory.
"Ahhhh….!!!"
"Ahhhh….!!!"
"Ahhhh….!!!"
There were several painful cries from one of the sealed rooms in the laboratory. Even those listening from a distance could understand that the source of these screams was feeling devastating pain.
In the corridor, next to the sealed room, Shinno stood quietly, he was leaning on the wall and analyzing the seals placed on the gate in front of him.
Staring at his wristwatch, Shinno muttered, "It has already been seven hours, and this has now become a daily occurrence. It seems that the hidden dangers within Hiruko's body are quite bigger than he expected."
At present only, Shinno has noticed those hidden dangers, others in the Akatsuki are not aware of it.
"Hmm, it seems that the Chimera Technique is still not fully developed, and there are also flaws in Hiruko's approach to plunder others' Kekkei Genkai."
As a researcher and observer, Shinno has been able to notice many details that Hiruko himself has ignored, as such Shinno can conclude that there many flaws with Hiruko's approach.
Tap… tap… tap… tap…
Just when Shinno was able to consider other things, he suddenly heard footsteps.
Shinno immediately raised his guard and asked vigilantly, "Who is it?"
At this time, the person walked out of the shadow, and Shinno can finally see the person.
Seeing the person who walked in, Shinno's expression shrank.
"No need to be so tensed, it's just little ol' me." – said the person.
Shinno's face immediately turned cold, and he asked while gritting his teeth, "What do you want Uchiha Shinichi?"
That's right, the person who walked in was none other than Uchiha Shinichi.
And seeing Uchiha Shinichi, Shinno was obviously angered, after all, it was only because of Uchiha Shinichi's subordinate that his planned to swallow Miko's daughter failed.
"Ahhhhhhh...!!!" – When the two people stared at each other coldly, a heart-wrenching sound came a distorted hand appeared on the glass window, and lights in the corridor blinked.
.
.
Read up to Chapter - 566 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n.. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations